Sledge Hammers with Broken Handles: The Tiger Tanks | Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank...

Geeky but intresting | Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II | Christopher W. Wilbeck

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	• Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II Christopher W. Wilbeck The Aberjona Press, 2004 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Operational Analysis of Tigers.

This book features operational analysis of Tiger battalions. I was surprised to find concise maps of each operation in this book. While I am still reading it, I felt a brief positive review was in order.

Sledge Hammers with Broken Handles: The Tiger Tanks

The Tiger tank was designed and envisioned to be a breakthrough vehicle, leading the attack through enemy defenses and achieving victory on the operational level, much as the Panzer Corps had done in Poland, France, North Africa and Russia. All of those great operational victories had been achieved with the lowly, even obsolete at the time, Panzer III. The Tiger was at the time of its introduction and literally years afterward the most powerful tank on the battlefield, on any battlefield. Yet it never achieved the victories expected of it. What went wrong?

This fine book endeavors to explain what did, in fact, go wrong. From the very introduction of the Tiger in late Summer of 1942 through the end of the war very little went right for the employment of this mighty weapon. Meant to be employed in full battalion strength in operational offensives it rarely was even available in such numbers due to 1) low production and 2) high maintenance requirements and breakdown rates combined with 3) low recovery rates of damaged/broken down Tigers. Further the Germans found themselves on the defensive almost continuously after the disaster at Kursk in July of 1943 and the Tigers were needed in small units, barely units, groups, to counterattack or simply stop enemy armored breakthroughs. And besides, from mid-1943 onward the Germans never mounted much of what would be considered an operational offensive in which the Tiger might have proven itself.

A further reason that the Tiger never achieved its operational purpose was that it was too slow. Having achieved a breakthrough it was too slow to exploit it, even if it were not plagued with a breakdown rate often exceeding 70%. Another problem was that there was never a mine-roller type device designed for the Panzer Korps. This meant that upon encountering mines the usual method of clearing was for the Tiger tank to enter the minefield, blow some up, become disabled, and another Tiger would take the lead. While the tank itself and the crew were usually not damaged its running gear would be and it would be essentially rendered 'hors de combat'. This problem was never solved by the Wehrmacht for some unknown reason.

The Tiger was admirably suited to defensive warfare. Its big 88mm gun could kill nearly any enemy tank at great distances. But its incredibly high breakdown rate led to the majority of Tigers lost having to be destroyed by their own crews because their Tigers would simply stop running (from breakdowns or lack of fuel- they used prodigious amounts to barely get about) and they lacked the ability to easily tow these behemoths back for repair before they were overrun. It amounted to the most powerful warrior on the field having weak ankles and a bad heart.

It is ironic that the finest tank in the war could not achieve what an obsolete little tank achieved. While the Tiger gained a reputation for its own invincibility the Panzer III obtained that reputation for the entire German Army.

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Geeky but intresting

A rather nice over view of Tiger operations with an attempt to quantify the Tigers effectiveness in combat. Some questions remained unanswered. How many more Panthers/Jagdpanthers could have been built if Tiger production had never taken place or stopped after TigerI would have been one that I would have liked to have seen answered.

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great for tiger-fans like me!

For folks like me, that LOVE tigers and eat up any info we can find, this book is fantastic. However, I wouldnt recommend this book for the average reader, just looking for an entertaining read. its packed with stats and info but short on any exciting "tiger stories" etc.... i only gave it 4 stars because it's kind of dry but i still loved it.

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Great analysis; provide context for Tigers

This book on Tigers does what so many others fail to do - it provides context and analysis on the success, or lack thereof, of the Tiger tank.

Most other books on the Tiger tend to emphasize the qualities of the tank when it fought at the very tactical tank-on-tank level. This book, while noting the positive aspects of the tank at that level, considers how the tank actually functioned at higher tactical and operational levels. The bottom line - it didn't do that well.

The reason the tank was mediocre is because of its limited operating range and especially its mechanical unreliability. Even on simple road marches of 20-30 miles a number of tanks would break down, which meant that few went into combat. At the same time, once engaged, even full strength battalions would be combat ineffective within days, not due to enemy fire but to breakdowns. This was especially true during defensive actions where, when their lines of communications were threatened and they had to retreat, more Tigers would be destroyed by their own crews than were destroyed by the enemy.

Whether destroyed by the enemy or their own crews the effect was the same. For example, the Tiger battalion with the best kill ratio (1:50) saw the ratio drop to 1:12.8 when the total number of Tigers lost to breakdowns, and then destroyed by their crews, and other causes is also considered. The next best battalion had a kill ratio of 1:19 which drops to 1:7.1 due to the Tigers being destroyed by their own crews and other causes. This meant, and what frequently happened, is that although the allies may have had to confront Tigers when they had no choice, they more frequently attacked weaker units on the Tigers' flanks, forcing them to withdraw and breakdown.

All-in-all an excellent book with great analysis. You cannot understand the Tiger without reading this book.

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The Tiger and King Tiger tanks gained legendary status during World War II. Numerous tank commanders attained phenomenal tallies of kills and accomplished extraordinary feats during combat in these tanks, building the legend to near mythic proportions after the war.

During WWII, the Germans created eleven Army and three Waffen-SS heavy tank battalions. These heavy tank battalions were employed in nearly every part of Europe against almost every enemy of Germany. As vast in breadth and scope as the employment of Tiger battalions themselves, Sledgehammers provides historical examples and analysis of heavy tank battalions? actions in North Africa, Normandy, Italy, the Ardennes Offensive, and numerous battles on the Eastern Front including Operation ZITADELLE/the Battle of Kursk, Operation BAGRATION, the battle of the Cherkassy Pocket, late war attacks to relieve Budapest, and many other more minor engagements.

Although a great deal has already been published about Tiger tanks? technical details and some of the units which used them, until now, very little has been written concerning the organization and tactical employment of these tanks throughout the German armed forces and across the theaters in which they were employed. Sledgehammers provides an in-depth look at heavy tank battalions? organizations and tactics, including the tactical doctrine by which these elite units were supposed to fight and how they were actually employed on the battlefield by their commanders and crews.

Even given the Tiger?s reputation, many readers will be amazed by the fearsome casualties inflicted by the crews of many of these behemoth armored vehicles. It is safe to say that no other armored vehicle of the war wreaked as much havoc among enemy formations as Tigers. Many will, however, also find it equally stunning to learn of the Tigers? many technical and tactical vulnerabilities. Through the systematic use of extremely detailed primary source and other impeccably reliable research, Sledgehammers demolishes several major myths about Tigers in World War II.

Meticulously researched and written with the perspective and respect for Tigers' crews that only a professional tanker can bring to the subject, Sledgehammers synthesizes information to provide new and definitive insights into the strengths and flaws of World War II?s most feared and legendary tanks.

Prologue by famed Tiger ace Otto Carius. Epilogue by Tiger killers Viktor Iskrov and Ray Holt.

35 original maps. 42 photos.

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